Fast track to asylum

12:00AM BST 11 Sep 2001

THE Home Secretary attaches great importance to tomorrow's meeting with his French counterpart, Daniel Vaillant, to discuss the asylum crisis.

David Blunkett may suppose that the shipwreck of his government's policy would be overlooked if only the French were to close the Sangatte camp near Calais. If so, the Home Secretary would be grievously mistaken. In the first place, the collapse of British asylum policy across the board is all too evident. Last week's High Court ruling that asylum seekers may not be detained while their applications are considered was merely the latest humiliation.

Second, M Vaillant is unlikely to oblige Mr Blunkett, if only because French and British interests on asylum have diverged ever since the Schengen Convention was signed by our EU partners in 1990. Schengen allows easy passage from each of the 15 signatories to the rest. Britain opted out and most of us probably assumed that, as a result, it would have no effect on us. If so, we were quite wrong.

Schengen is the reason why the Sangatte camp exists. It is the reason why more such camps may be built. It is one reason why we now have a major asylum seeker problem. Schengen has been a disaster from the British point of view because any asylum seeker - or, rather, illegal immigrant, as is the case most of the time - who gains entry to any Schengen country such as Italy or Austria can move without obstruction to a port or tunnel leading to Britain. Previously, an Afghan, say, attempting to move from Italy to France would have had to deal with French immigration officials first. Consequently, he had greater difficulty reaching the Channel. Now he sails straight through.

He need not do so illegally. He can choose to apply for a visa from whichever of the Schengen countries is considered most lax, then move through other Schengen countries to Britain's border. The outer protection of Britain thus depends on the weakest link - whichever country is most cavalier about letting people in. And Schengen members now have less reason than before to be careful. It suits them to usher would-be immigrants or asylum seekers, however dubious, towards Britain. Sometimes the Schengen countries have deliberately dumped people on to Britain. In 1998, Belgium, having issued people with "notices to quit" the Schengen area, put them on Eurostar trains heading for London.

We certainly were right to opt out of the Schengen Convention. If Britain had joined, those unfortunates in the Sangatte camp would already be here and many others besides. But the lesson of Schengen is that when other countries in Europe sign up to something, it can have a major effect on us, even if we opt out.